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NovoWolf
NovoWolf is a mod for registered Wolfenstein, made by Thomas Weiling. It was released on December 2, 2009. Coding was initially done by Dean Horton, but Havoc took over duties late in the process. Initially close to being one of Thomas' many unfinished projects, all product related to NovoWolf were kept from public release until all maps were finished and all bugs were fixed, more than two years after its conception. NovoWolf features new boss graphics from Bruno Déo Virgilio, who Thomas had collaborated with in Castle Assault. NovoWolf contains 21 levels, played in a seamless flow. Level 21 is a secret level. Genesis Work was begun on NovoWolf in July 2007, when Thomas collected all needed sprites for the project. Having been used to the classic Wolfenstein style for more than two years, it was decided upon using The Lost Episodes as an aesthetic base. It was also discussed to use Spear of Destiny as the source, but this proved impractical. The mod only included 21 levels, as Spear did, but was based on the registered version of Wolfenstein 3D. In terms of graphics and level design, Thomas used The Golden Episodes and WSJ as his main muse, though the usual allusions to BJ Rowan were also kept. Thomas corresponded with WSJ via e-mail on occasion, and was lucky enough to receive a scientist actor, later used in Castle Totenkopf SDL. This new enemy was implemented by Dean without hassle. It worked fine, and new animated sprites were also added. Other notable coding included allowing more than 399 objects and 149 actors, end level objects and four differently colored locked doors, designed for each key. The bulk of the mapping (Levels 1-14) was made between July and October 2007, including the extensive laboratory section, where Thomas finally felt what he wanted to prove in Project Wolfgeist came across. The only hurdle in the map making was level 9, which in its original incarnation had a medium-sized maze as its middle section. This particular level was never backed up and was lost, but luckily this was the only casualty. Level 9 was then redone quickly, making for a rushed design that featured a more dominant maze, making for poor playback. Coding issues Sometime in November 2007, the EXE stopped working. Certain levels were left inaccessible, and actor sprites acted odd. Dean, who had worked hard on the coding, sent it off for BrotherTank to see if he knew what to do. Other people were also invovled in helping out, including AlumiuN who would prove vital to the project (see below). As the bugs were never thwarted, Thomas became restless and instead decided to try his hand on a different project, for which Dean also did the coding: The Bitter End. Obscurity and final mapping After six months of light modding activity, Thomas returned with The Bitter End in April 2008, and would begin work on his next project, W.O.L.F., shortly after. NovoWolf did not have a functioning EXE, as Thomas had not backed up older EXEs, and only had the November 2007 undebugged one. Churning out levels at a fast rate, often two or three levels a day, Thomas turned his attention to finishing the final levels for NovoWolf in between finishing W.O.L.F. The Dr. Dittz boss level was the first to be finished, followed quickly by the remaining levels. The only level that proved difficult to finish was the bonus level. Initially, Thomas was wary of bonus levels, feeling that he never did them any justice and had no idea what to do with it, so a throwaway featuring the Hitler ghosts, in an environment otherwise dominated by Lost Episodes sprites was made simply just for the sake of completion. Lost and found After releasing W.O.L.F. in December 2008, Thomas took a three-month break from modding and map making. Returning with a fresh idea which ended up as Endlösung, NovoWolf was lost in the process. During Christmas 2008, Thomas swapped his old Windows XP for a brand new computer running Windows Vista and using a widescreen flat monitor, making map making in MapEdit particularly difficult and unsatisfying. Not knowing of the full screen option, Thomas made Endlösung with MapEdit in windowed mode. The old Windows XP contained what Thomas believed was the only surviving version of NovoWolf, and for most of 2009, NovoWolf was considered to be a lost mod. After releasing Endlösung and breaking for the summer, Thomas began collaborating with Havoc on a new project that featured the new fangled SDL; Thomas was quickly captivated by this feature and work was immediately begun on an expansive, feature-heavy mod which would eventually become the Wolf Overkill project. Mentioning NovoWolf in passing to Havoc, he offered his services to help with the EXE. As Thomas did not own any Wolf Overkill files, these were eventually found in the possession of AlumiuN who, not knowingly, saved the entire project from obscurity. With all the levels finished (but not having been able to be played since the fall of 2007) NovoWolf was given a reboot featuring the SDL system, and a thorough level test. Thus, level 15-21 were only play tested for the first time more than one year after their making. NovoWolf was finally released on December 2, 2009 in SDL only. Over time, it has become one of the more popular mods by Thomas Weiling. Several playthroughs on YouTube exist. External links * Download NovoWolf (SDL) at The Wolfenstein 3D Vault * Review (by RussianStorm) * Thread at DieHard Wolfers * Review at Dean's Wolfenstein 3D Blog * News at the Dome: NOV/DEC 2009 * Youtube videos: Lingyan203 SSGMaster Udmando D1m3 Category:2009 mods Category:SDL mods Category:Mods Category:Registered Wolfenstein 3D Category:Awarded mods Category:Mods with 20 or more levels